2021-22 BTC Calendar: Susan Zurbrigg

As the inaugural recipient of the Beck Faculty Fellowship to recognize impact on students and community, Susan Zurbrigg’s achievements as art professor, painter and diversity leader derive from her commitment to more complete history-telling. The native Chicagoan’s bold and colorful works have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions regionally and nationally. She recently led the Harrisonburg Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation “Changing the Narrative” project funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Virginia Humanities to redress the cultural erasure of African Americans in the Shenandoah Valley. Zurbrigg is the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for JMU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts and a board member of the Northeast Neighborhood Association, a Harrisonburg nonprofit dedicated to community, cultural and historical projects. Zurbrigg received the 2015 JMU Diversity Enhancement Award for significant contributions and demonstrated commitment to the enhancement of diversity in the Madison community. The Beck fellowship was established by alumni Phillip (’73) and Christina (’73) Updike.